I have noticed that some of the guys who used to post quite a bit; Bud Spencer (real name unknown) Joe (joe_o), Julio (julioviper), Patsy (wattosjunkpile), Burnsy (unknown real name), etc...haven't posted in a while. Looking through today at some of their profiles I see some logged in lately but haven't posted in a while others haven't logged in for a long time. I am just curious why regulars seem to be posting less. It is being discussed on another forum that facebook seems to be killing the forum(s). Is this what is happening? Are a lot of regulars moving to other outlets for discussion, classifieds, etc...?

I am not a facebook user and don't plan on being one ever. The way I see it, if I stayed friends with you after meeting you then your my friend; if I haven't spoken to you since high school then I could care less about you or I would have tried to get in touch. I don't need to know your eating schedule or any other nonsensical crap. I know this forum has been rocked by some things in the recent past and don't wish to dredge any of that up, just an observation that the forums are all slower these days and a lot of long time regulars aren't around much.

I don't plan on not using a forum and to me the information and search abilities of a forum allow for proper research and learning about our hobby. The little I know of facebook it seems things are posted quickly and once it is done they are lost forever or it is hard to find. I am the least technologically savvy guy around so the odds of me leaving a forum for something that I have to learn how to use (after having spent all this time learning how to use a forum) is slim to none. Just some thoughts on the slowness around. If I am alone in my observations feel free to tell me to shut it. I just hate to see a decline in forums usage (no matter which forum).

Death by Facebook, it seems most forums are been hit hard at the moment. I seem to be spending my time 50/50 between the fourms/FB at the moment but i'll keep you company Bryan

Facebook is absolutely the culprit. I'm the first to admit that the ease of use is hard (maybe even impossible) too mimic. Huge access to people, conversations in near real time, and ease of uploading (especially on a mobile) are tough to compete with. I've basically left RS except to post FS adds.

Problem is that there is no fix, gotta hope people come back to the forums for some of the reasons you mentioned

Some regulars /old timers have had life changes as well: parenthood ( or more kids), change of hobby etc.

Forum knowledge I hope will never be replaced by other media.

I do know FB is one major issue, I am on a few SW groups there, I also link people to here as well some have joined once they look around. I for one have no plans on leaving as I have lots of good friends here some are on FB others like you Bryan are not. I do know that trying to find info on collecting anything on FB is a job in itself where as here and other forums that are strictly for a hobby so to speak like Scale Model Addict where I go to get modeling info are perfect.

I don't think the knowledge that is in the forums can ever be replaced by Facebook. I hate to see a decline in forum participation though because stuff like the ledy guide could never have been created through Facebook (or would have been much harder) as so many would have been chiming in and then others taking the discussion off direction and then information being glossed over and lost.

I just wish there was an answer to help that out. I know some use Facebook for personal stuff also so they are already there and logged in so the ease of access to them is a huge reason. I am glad to know there are some who will never leave the forums.

I've seen a fair few established members bow out for personal or life-changing reasons. Some come back, others stay in the background and are happy just to read.

I think I'll always be here because most of my "SW time" is spent on guides and the main site, which is what forums are best at - archived info.

Maybe the forums can one day get more 'instant' like FB, or maybe FB will get more 'archival' like the forums?

From what I've read, FB sucks as an information archive, and it's biggest draw seems to be buying and selling. As someone who rarely buys and sells, I don't see myself signing up, though some of the very niche groups seem interesting like Kevin's vinyl records.

At the same time, I wouldn't trust FB with any personal details and have always disliked their 'opt out' ethos.

I see forums as a bit of a dusty old library, where it's a pleasure to wander round and browse. Ideal for old bastards like me    Not that I'm adverse to social media, I have a very active (and time-killing) Twitter account for my toy blog. I enjoy the less-intrusive ethos of Twitter than what I read FB is about.

Someone once said: Twitter is the place you go to meet people you don't know but who you end up liking. FB is the place you go to meet people you do know but end up hating   or something like that. I suck at quotes.

I'm not trying to bang the drum for Twitter btw. I still prefer forums.

I have been often on FB lately. I have to admit the flow of information is impressive though not everything is interesting. I am using FB to sell as Ebay is really becoming too expensive (sale charges and PP)..

I decided I will firstly post here and then on FB (not talking about sales though)! I think it is important not to forget where we all come from

Alex

Defo FB, alas I am one of those culprits who posts pictures of my food.... no harm in it

I've notice the slow down in traffic for the past year as well. But it's only going to get worse with the nice weather returning here in the northern hemisphere. I call it the summer slow down.

Like everyone has already said, Facebook I'm sure has a lot to do with it. There are so many different Star Wars groups on there so you can easily pick whichever line or topic of collecting and join. As far as us "old timers" who have been collecting for 10-20 years it's also just a matter of having other things taking priority. Part of growing with the hobby. And, we have seen this before many times. Long ago it was it was Star Wars user groups and message boards, then chat rooms, then forums, now Facebook... probably something else will become popular and take over in another 5 years... you never know. You just have to grow and adapt to the changes.

I don't post on RS that much these days and even on here unless someone is talking about Mexican bootlegs I may just brows around. I wouldn't bash FB too hard though. I've met a LOT of people in the bootleg group that are not on here and have gained a LOT of information by becoming friends with them. Even discovered information I didn't like. If there has been one thing constant in the Star Wars collecting community over the last 20 years, that would be change.

I realize that I in on way even remotely qualify as a regular here, but I've had pesky "real life" concerns take over recently, and for the next 4 months or so.  Personally, I greatly prefer forums to facebook for the purposes of SW collecting, although I have had to adjust to checking facebook now and then to see if the roulette wheel brought up anything good for sale in the 5 seconds before I signed on...

I have been away from here a lot recently due to facebook also,
but I am starting to post less on FB due to, so much confusion on there,
everything is quick and easy there, but a complete nuthouse at some times.
I also believe that the current prices being reached are driving away, or at least prohibiting
many of us from buying, I know I have not been able to pickup a few items due to price.

I dont have a facebook account so i cant blame them.i seem to post in spurts,when i get a chance to.i should pull my finger out and post more.

Daren

No Facebook over here.. for me it's time, which has become a very precious commodity these past few months.

The vintage market is crazy and it's sidelined my purchases both on and off-line (haven't posted to the recent purchases thread in quite a while). Vintage Star Wars aren't as easily found in the wild like they were a few years ago... and even when you do come across something decent, sellers believe it's a piece of gold from Fort Knox.

I used to really enjoy hunting items down and that's just not happening much at all anymore... Sure there are deals to be had with proper networking, time and patience... but even those are few and far between in 2015.

I collected as a younger person and sold out in 1999. I picked up the hobby again in 2011 and remember feeling like a late entrant at that time because the dollar needle had moved drastically since the late 90's - I suppose 2011 wasn't so late after all...

I keep a very detailed spreadsheet of all of my purchases in the wild since 2011 (who, where, when, and for what)... I don't believe my results are typical because I've enjoyed some pretty incredible finds at VERY reasonable prices. Personally since July of 2011, comparing to recognized prices in 2015, I'm up 900% (which doesn't matter because I have zero intentions of selling)

I don't think prices are coming down ever again... I believe this is the new reality and it's only to climb from here.

I think Facebook has really hurt the forums a lot. I only find they are good for sales and chatting about whatever is going on in whatever hobby that day. FB pages are horrible for any type of research because stuff disappears down the page and is near impossible to find later.

I wonder if it also has to do with most people using their phones to access the internet now? I'm just throwing that out there I don't have a smartphone or whatever and never will if I can help it. Maybe FB is easier to check while you're sitting at Starbucks than TIG.

For me it's a total lack of interest in the hobby anymore. A number of factors killed it for me. The biggest being the bad attitude of a lot of the people in this hobby. The egos, the backstabbing, the drama over the stupidest little things. It turned me off. I still drop by TIG most days to see what's going on because I do consider a lot of people here friends. And I love toys so like to see what people have picked up. And I love the customs section. But as far as collecting SW it's a dead issue for me for now.